


PIVOT!

by misspandalily



Category: Friends (TV), Naruto
Genre: F/F, F/M, Friends AU, Friendship, Growth, Humour, Love, M/M, NaruHina - Freeform, NejiTen - Freeform, Romance, SasuSaku - Freeform, genderbendershika, ino/sai - Freeform, slowburn, soulmatching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-10-28 17:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10835733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misspandalily/pseuds/misspandalily
Summary: I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to fall. [A Naruto 'Friends' AU]





	1. the one where it all begins

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Friends. This was written for my love of writing.

It begins, one would say, in a small ramen-house in the middle of Konoha.

The time is Spring, during which Tenten finds herself walking out of her workplace and onto sunlit streets. She purchases a green tea smoothie on her way to her friends' meeting point, beaming up at the sunshine that's peeking through sweeping skyscrapers. Her work is largely confined to the kitchen of Yakiniku Q, where she's been steadily working her way up from waitress to sous-chef over the course of four years. She likes to think that she's a hard worker with a good head on her shoulders and an expansive knowledge of the culinary arts.

By day, Tenten is an aspiring chef. By night, she specialises in the complexities of kitchen knives.

And, on the plus side, she's having dinner with this cute guy from work named Juugo, the 'Meat Guy'. He's timid and speaks softly, even though he's about as brawny as a wrestler from the heavy-duty work he does with meat. Despite the fact that they've only ever communicated in short bursts of time, and she's never really seen him without meat, Tenten likes that he's at least a hard-working person at work.

The only real issue lies behind the doors of Ichiraku's, and on the cozy little couch formation in the corner that's permanently reserved for a group of five.

"Tenten!" is the first word she hears when she steps inside, removing her trench-coat from her shoulders and revelling in the warmth of the restaurant. It's small and constantly smells like noodle soup, but it also serves the best coffee at a price that doesn't involve donating a kidney to the black market. She makes her way over to the corner and settles in between an ecstatic Lee and an arguing Neji and Naruto.

"You need to stop cooking ramen at _three in the morni-_ "

"It's _ramen!"_

Neji makes a wild, sweeping gesture across the entire restaurant. "We practically live in a ramen-house."

Lee greets her and takes a sip out of her smoothie. "How was work?"

"It was _great_ ," Tenten snatches her drink from Lee's spandex-covered arm and drinks from the straw happily. "I'm having dinner with a guy from work soon."

Naruto's mouth, opened mid-argument, snaps shut as quickly as Neji's jaw drops open. "A date?"

Naruto is the first to recover, as always. " _You're_ going on a date?"

"Yes," she replies, bristling, "And it's not a date. It's just two people going out to dinner...and not having sex."

"Still," Neji chimes in, "He's going out with you, so there has to be something wrong with him."

"How decidedly un-youthful, Neji!" Lee shakes his shiny, black bob in disappointment, "So, does he have a hump? A hump and a hairpiece?"

Tenten sends Lee a youthful glare and laughs. "Conjure up any dream you want, but I still have a date."

"A-ha!" Naruto shouts, almost knocking his ramen bowl over. "So it _is_ a date."

He is met with a bemused silence, and then the doors slam open. In walks Sasuke Uchiha, his spiky hair fresh out of a '90s Japanese mens' magazine, and a miserable expression lining his face. It's pouring outside, with the onset of Spring beginning to purge out the storms of Winter. Naruto immediately waves at his long-time best friend and gestures towards the other chair in their area. Sasuke plops down onto it, throws his soaking-wet umbrella onto the table, which hurls water onto Neji's delicate face, and frowns. "Hi."

Tenten's radar turns on immediately. Her younger brother is by no means a cheerful person, but his mood has been particularly sour lately. It could have been a bad day at work, and given that it's a curatorial job, Tenten wouldn't be surprised, or it could have been the fact that his wife of four years was his ex-wife as of six months ago. "You okay, Sasuke?"

"I just feel like someone reached down my throat, grabbed my small intestine, pulled it out of my mouth, and tied it around my neck." He responds in a clipped tone, his pale complexion providing a stark contrast against the raindrops streaking down his face.

Neji, now dried and still relatively bitter, holds up a plate. "Cookie?"

Tenten rolls her eyes. "Temari moved her stuff out today."

"Ohhh," Naruto replies, his tone a little less harsher than before. The blonde man quietens down out of respect for Sasuke's broody demeanour and slurps at his ramen bowl. She hasn't known Naruto as long as she's known Neji - who'd been introduced to her by Sasuke during their college years. But she's been around Naruto long enough to see that his back is tighter than it had been minutes ago and his jaw is ever-so-slightly clenched - both signs that he's deep in thought, the existential sort.

She decides to alleviate the sudden blanket of tension by ordering a cup of coffee, black, because Sasuke doesn't like have saccharine things in his life. She spots Lee picking at the air in front of Sasuke with an exuberant expression on his face, and then sees Sasuke slapping his hand away when she comes back with a mug in her hands. "Here, drink up."

He accepts it and turns to everyone, mainly Lee. "I'll be fine. We ended on a mature note, and I hope she'll be happy." The sentence sounds robotic, almost rehearsed.

"No, you dont."

Sasuke agrees with her, his voice rising in volume until he's fuming and tomato-red. "To Hell with her."

"Look," Naruto interjects, his face free of noodles, "We get it. You're feeling a lot of pain right now. You're angry. You're hurting. You didn't know that she was a lesbian." At that, Sasuke's mouth opens angrily. Naruto stops him. "You know what the solution is?"

Neji, Tenten and Lee curiously observe Sasuke gesturing for Naruto to continue. It isn't every day that Naruto overtly displays an ability to empathise with Sasuke, however close they are.

"Strip joint! Come on, you're single now! Have some hormones." Nevermind.

"But," Sasuke grinds his teeth together like the bane of existence is Naruto, and not the ex plaguing his mind. "I don't _want_ to be single. I want to be married again. To her."

Tenten lifts her smoothie up to her lips and exchanges glances with Neji. Sasuke's been taking his divorce as well as they'd predicted, which wasn't well at all. The door slams open again, prompting Ayame to run towards the entrance and usher a waterlogged bride into the restaurant. The group lapses into a shocked silence when the woman walks past them, hands rubbing her upper arms as she shivers uncontrollably. Tenten catches a hint of pink hair from behind the veil and narrows her eyes at the woman. Something seems oddly familiar about her.

It hits her when Neji says something mildly sarcastic and Sasuke stands up from his seat as though he's in a trance.

_"Sakura?"_


	2. the one where tenten gets a roommate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the overwhelming support everyone! I am so glad you've enjoyed and stamped approval for this crossover - here's to a long tale of friendship!
> 
> On another note, I do acknowledge that these preliminary chapters are essentially slightly-edited carbon copies of the original 'Friends' episodes. I haven't fully grasped the characters yet, and I'm still tweaking storylines here and there so that I can match the Naruto characters with their respective counterparts. As a token of great appreciation for your patience, here is another chapter!

The name Sakura Haruno conjures the image of a young girl, high school age, with pink hair that bounces down her shoulder blades and frames her delicate face like flower petals. The girl herself is elegant, rich, refined, with creamy skin that brings out her bright green eyes and soft lips that let out an angel choir when she laughs. The embodiment - the pinnacle - of perfection is Sakura Haruno.

Smart, sweet, sassy Sakura Haruno.

The last time Tenten had seen her old high school friend, she was jumping up and down in her gilded mansion and blushing and beaming at Sai - her then-boyfriend, the oral surgeon - and accepting a rose-gold watch he'd bought her.

About a week later, Tenten lugged three cardboard boxes carrying all her belongings into a small apartment in Brooklyn, hung the framed piece of paper declaring her business degree onto the cleanest wall, and set to work applying for any and every restaurant in the city that had openings for a chef. The irony was not lost on her. She'd done enough studying to make her parents proud for a lifetime, and then it'd been her turn to make herself happy for once. That meant staying away from the toxic, high-achieving environment she lovingly calls family and learning how to stand up on her own two feet.

Thus, four years' worth of late-night recipe-inventing, combined with her need to perfect and polish, hadn't been conducive to her friendship with Sakura, who by then was rumoured to have been engaged to Sai and on her way to marital bliss in Aruba, so they'd drifted apart.

"Sakura?" Tenten stands up from the couch, bewildered. The Harunos are known for being extravagantly rich, with their yacht parties and fancy specialist medical degrees. It is also known that Sakura does not spend much time (if at all) in plebeian restaurants like Ichiraku's when there are more luxuriant places to go - places with almas caviar topped with golden truffles that are served on quaint golden platters.

Sakura whips around when she hears her name being called, effectively sending several droplets of water into Neji's face, to which he sputters and grumpily excuses himself to go to the bathroom. "Tenten!" She shuffles over to their little corner, her white dress leaving behind a substantial trail of rainwater as she moves.

"Oh Kami," Tenten helps lift the veil off her head and places it on the table before quickly introducing Sakura to the sedentary company. The introductions are mostly friendly and enthused, the exception being Sasuke, who awkwardly hovers between hugging his long-time friend and giving her a(n attempt at a) comforting pat on the shoulder, and Neji, who is still absent. "So," Tenten continues when Sakura is wrapped in a warm towel by Ayame, "Are you going to tell us, or are we waiting for four wet bridesmaids?"

Sakura's face falls into her hands. "I'm awful, Tennie, awful. There I was, at the wedding I've been planning for _months_ \- crystal chandeliers, glass swans, _almas caviar_ ," Sakura lets out a distressed noise while gesturing wildly with her hands, "And in this gorgeous dress. Then my mother comes into the room, just before Pachelbel's Canon's about to start, and she says - 'Sakura, I'd just like you to know that I'm proud of you for making the practical choice.'" Tenten rubs Sakura's back as she nods along, frowning. "And that's when I realised that maybe I don't want the practical choice. Maybe I want someone who cares about me and doesn't spend every second in an office. You know? Someone I love and who loves me back."

Divine being that he is, Neji chooses this moment to return from his bathroom hiatus. He pauses just before the seating area, taking in the sight before him: a sopping wet bride sprawled over his favourite seat on the couch and bawling her eyes out into a towel, his best friend patting said bride's back rhythmically, Lee and Naruto staring at each other awkwardly, and Sasuke Uchiha looking more attentive than he has in months.

He regards himself as someone with a strong sense of intuition, an insatiable thirst to be in the know-how of every how there is - because how else is he currently working himself up the ranks of Hyuga Enterprises? - and thus senses that something will change in their dynamic forever. That something being the bride.

Of course, he also isn't one to so ostentatiously predict the intricate dealings of Fate either, so he responds to his hypothesis by grabbing a chair, sitting down on it, and making his presence known. "Neji Hyuga." Sakura takes his outstretched hand and shakes it delicately.

"Sakura Haruno."

"Neji was my brother's senior and roommate in college - we met a few years back at Sasuke's graduation," Tenten fills in the blanks that Neji refuses to elaborate on. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Sakura blinks owlishly up at Tenten. Her green eyes take on a glint of guilt, mixed in with pleading. "Well, I was hoping I could stay with you for now? I know we've drifted apart but you're the only person I know who won't judge me for running away."

Touched as she is, Tenten also spends a significant deal of time around Neji, so her immediate response is cutting. "Who also wasn't invited to the wedding."

Sakura winces. "I was hoping that wouldn't be a problem."

"It's not," Tenten amends quickly, "I've been looking for a roommate anyway."

"Great!" The pinkette perks up and grabs Tenten's hands with her own, cold ones. "I'll help you out in any way I can until I get back on my feet - that's a promise."

Comfortingly, Tenten finds herself going back to her old ways with Sakura, the ones where idly chatting about inane topics for hours on end are simultaneously therapeutic and entertaining. She misses being around the girl she'd grown up with, even if they'd been a year apart and Sasuke had seen more of Sakura. What's more, she misses having a close, _female_ friend.

Granted, these boys are all her best friends, but it's tiring to not have a girl to talk to when she's feeling particularly cranky a few days per month, or to gossip with while drinking red wine. And look, she drinks wine with Neji on a regular basis, because he's posh and only shares his specially-imported Sauvignon with her, but Neji's body is also 90% corporate jargon and 10% sarcasm whenever he's drunk and venting about his feelings - Tenten can only take so much saltiness!

Besides, if there's anyone who's happier to see Sakura come back into their lives than her, it's Sasuke, who's been harbouring a gargantuan crush on Sakura since junior year of Konoha High. When Sakura walks to the counter to order a bowl of ramen for 'comfort eating', she notices Sasuke's obvious increase in mood and smirks.

Her brother catches the pointed the look she sends his way and returns to his customary scowl. Tenten rolls her eyes, because _please_ , he is that obvious to anyone whose name doesn't start with Sakura and end with Haruno.

She just hopes he'll gather up the guts to ask her out before he realises that girls like Sakura Haruno never wait around forever. When left to their own devices, they'll grow out of the trust-fund glamour coat that's been painted over them by their parents and learn to stand up for themselves. Girls like Sakura don't settle for less.

Tenten doubts that Sasuke will be able to spend the better portion of another decade pining over the same girl without acting on it again. She knows he's hurting from the sting of a rejection that's out of his control, but he's also annoyingly passive when the situation doesn't call for it. Her brother is the absolute worst at dating, even though he's blessed with the good looks of an Uchiha - _it's not arrogance, it's confidence!_ \- and genius-level intellect.

Hell, Lee is very much gay and he's still making more progress with Sakura just by walking up to her at the counter and offering his condolences for her cancelled marriage.

What Tenten still isn't in the stages of figuring out, however, is how _she_ is going to cope with Sakura as a roommate. Girl-bonding there will be, she's pretty sure that Sakura has no idea how to do mundane things like laundry and cleaning. Or working, for that matter. Can she even help pay rent if she's not working?

Tenten isn't poor, by any means - she has a rich family who've been hinting at helping her with rent since she moved out, and she works a stable, well-paying job, and even though she's still somewhat underwater with paying off her student debt, her life is comfortable. Her life is sustainable, as long as Neji keeps sharing his wine with her and keeps Naruto away from her fridge when she's away.

She is an efficient, one-woman unit as is, and therein lies her problem (and also the reason why she never keeps a roommate for more than half a year).

Sakura returns with a bowl of ramen and Lee in tow, settling down in her former seat before gracelessly inhaling the entire bowl within five minutes. "What?" she catches the looks of amazement coming from the entire group. Naruto crashes to the ground and kneels prostrate before her.

"Teach me."


	3. the one with the sonogram at the end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support everyone!
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing

Dating, simply put, is the action of going out with a particular, possibly special someone, for a night of fun - dinner and a movie, maybe a hike through the forest, or an hour in an escape room. Tenten is laid back when it comes to dates, mainly because she hasn't been one in so long and as a result is willing to try anything. She doubts she'll ever meet the coveted 'One' on a first date with a handsome stranger, and even then that 'One' needs to pass the millions of tests she has in store for them before they she's fully comfortable with entertaining the notion of marriage, or love (whichever comes first). Namely, culinary prowess, knowledge of knives, humour, intelligence, and the pinnacle of them all: compatibility with her friends.

They're not awful by any means - the fou- _five_ people she calls her best friends, that is - they all happen to be very lovely, very funny individuals with great personalities. It's just that they're all unhealthily attached to each other, and any newcomers who intrude on their group dynamic via dating have their own examinations to pass before they're accepted into their folds. Sure, Hinata didn't have to go through that but she's Neji's cousin and any family members are automatically considered welcome.

It's horribly elitist of them. They will literally be sitting with each other in a ramen-house after work every day for the rest of their lives - they hope.

In any case, her date went  _so_ well. Jugo was recently divorced - had broken the anniversary watch she'd left at their old home - and surprisingly kind, for someone who slices through meat with his cleaver like it's balsa wood, and gentlemanly. He'd held open the door, pulled the chair out for her to sit, was genuinely interested in the conversational pieces they'd had about cooking, and to top it all off - was incredibly good-looking.

It was like she'd won the lottery. Tenten'd given herself a mental pat on the back for choosing so well after four years of self-imposed abstinence.

When they were both nearly done with their meals, Jugo placed his fork on the table. "Tenten," he said apologetically, "About what we're going to do, you know -  _after_  this."

Ah. She recalled being explicitly told that sex wasn't in the cards for either of them tonight.

"Well, you're a great person, and I feel like I should tell you about - this kind of fifth-date revelation."

"Is there going to be a fifth date?" Tenten smiled at him cheekily. He flushed.

"If you want."

Tenten nodded, because why not, and he continued.

"Ever since my ex-wife walked out on me, I haven't been able to...perform _sexually_  for two years. It's a little embarrassing," Jugo looked down at his plate and Tenten felt a surge of pity for him.

She placed her hand over his and smiled. "I'm glad you broke her watch."

Jugo returned her smile with a star-struck gaze. "So do you - do you still want that fifth date after hearing all that?"

"Yeah, I do."

And then she comes to work the next morning, grinning from ear to ear, swearing that the sun's smiling at her because  _holy kami, she had sex last night_ and nothing can ruin her mood today. Not even the sauce that goes wrong too early in the morning, which she fixes because she's a boss at fixing sauces, and not even the arrival of a prissy Shion who regularly makes predictions about  _which customer will storm out of the restaurant and on which night_ more often than she makes desserts.

It is Shion, of all people, who picks up on her good mood. "You had sex last night," she states matter-of-factly.

Tenten stops mixing the flour and glances at her, surprised. "How do you know?"

Shion shrugs. "So who was it?"

Tenten decides that as much as she dislikes Shion, she hasn't told anyone about her night yet (not even Sakura, who was asleep and moping over her wedding) so she might as well get it over and done with. "Jugo."

"Oh," Shion gives Tenten that mysterious smile she always does when she knows something someone else doesn't, "Jugo the Meat Guy. I know him."

She finds that fact strange. While Tenten regularly crosses paths with the meat section to grab ingredients, dessert and meat don't mix all too often - if at all- so she isn't sure how Shion  _knows_  Jugo. "You mean, you know him like I know him?"

"Yes," the woman affirms without a blink, "I'm happy for you two. When I was dating him, he told me that he hadn't had sex in two years!"

Tenten drops her wooden spoon and stares at the half-mixed flour in muted shock, then drops the watch he'd left over at her apartment yesterday and resolutely crushes it with the heel of her boot.

* * *

Sasuke works in a curatorial position at the Museum of Pre-historic History under the anthropology department. He walks into his office every morning with a cup of coffee - black, like his soul - and gently sets it on the designated spot on his desk, then slaps his computer awake and undergoes the tedious process of picking up his paperwork and compiling resources for his thesis. The files are in surplus at this time of the year, so he doesn't get to do his daily rounds in the exhibits as long as he normally does. But when he does get around to it, he examines and picks at the wax models of  _australopithecus africanus_ so thoroughly that his assistants are exasperated and on the verge of hitting him over the head after an hour.

He loves his job, alright.

It's the only part of his life that's been constant lately, with Temari's demand (and success) for a divorce, her moving out of their home and into an apartment with Shikamaru - who even names their daughter Shikamaru? - and Sakura's arrival from the pages of a  _Vogue_ Wedding edition.

When he's around fake pre-historic people, with their clubs and their simplistic lifestyles, he feels like at the very least, he's a member of the  _homo sapiens_  species and look how far they've come? Modern humans don't need to bang people over the head with their clubs, and Sasuke Uchiha is a modern human with an IQ of 150 and is thus very capable of rational thought.

Although, hypothetically, and if Shikamaru were male, that notion may be under question.

"Mr Uchiha," one of his assistants speak up from behind a rock and points his thumb at the glass pane, "I think your ex-wife is here to see you."

He feels his back straighten out and stiffen. "No, she's not."

The assistant starts to look and sound confused, and Sasuke attempts to send him mental death-waves from where he's standing, which is facing away from the pane and definitely not willing to see the former love of his life again. If the employee knows what's best for him, he'll pretend that Temari isn't there.

"But she is." Sasuke resolves to fire him as soon as she's gone. "Temari! Hi!"

He exhales through his nostrils and swivels around to see his assistant walking out and Temari stepping through a bush to greet him. "Temari."

"Sasuke," she replies warmly. "You look good."

He nods. "As do you." She truly does, as much as he hates that she looks considerably happier without him. The air is as awkward as it's been for the past half-year, so he decides to clear it in the only way he knows how with people who divorce him because they're not into men. "Why are you here."

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

Strictly speaking, the first time Sasuke had been present at a sonogram screening was when he was in Mikoto Uchiha's womb. He'd been told that his father was driving Itachi to school and Tenten was sitting in a nearby chair with her Barbie chef doll and minding her own business while the doctor put a stick to his mother's stomach and moved it around.

It's his first time witnessing that happen now, and he isn't sure how he feels about it.

The presence of his ex-wife's girlfriend didn't help either.

"Shikamaru Nara," the woman greets him with a handshake and a lazy, appraising expression. Her hair is spiky, her eyes droopy, her entire demeanour screaming laid back and suave - everything he isn't. Apparently, and according to his sister, he's too wound up (bullshit).

"Sasuke Uchiha."

The doctor walks in with a tray of instruments, greets them warmly and settles Temari into the hospital cot. "I'll be back in a few moments."

When she leaves, Sasuke looks at the two of them looking at each other lovingly. "Does the doctor know...about our situation?"

"Yes," says Temari, "And she's very understanding." Shikamaru grabs a water bottle from her bag and passes it to Temari, who receives it with a brief, nervous smile. "This is my first time seeing the baby."

Sasuke softens his gaze and nods. "What are we going to name it?"

"Shikadai if it's a boy, Yoshino if it's a girl," Shikamaru interjects immediately. "Yoshino is my mother's name." Sasuke feels the beginnings of a tantrum coming on and clenches his jaw.

"Are you telling me that my child will be named after your family? How selfish could you possible be."

"Shika and I made this decision together, Sasuke," Temari sends him a very familiar, very reproachful glare.

" _I'm_  the other biological parent, not your-"

"Lesbian lover," Shikamaru practically smirks.

He fumes. "I should have a say in what my child's name will be."

"Then shoot," Shikamaru glares back at him, "Now's your chance."

"Naori. Naori Uchiha." They freeze and stare at each other awkwardly. Shikamaru mutters 'troublesome' under her breath. "What?"

"We're not naming the baby Naori Uchiha."

"Then how about Naka?"

Temari breathes in and out. "We're not naming the baby 'Uchiha'."

He feels the sting of rejection again, only this time it hurts a lot more. He hasn't been the most attentive husband to her, by reasons only half his fault, but at the very least a  _baby_  should have united them in some way. To hear Temari cut him out of his own flesh and blood like that makes him feel like punching a wall repeatedly - and Sasuke is known for having an excellent sense of self-control whenever he's in the right mindset.

"We're naming it Nara-Sabaku."

" _What?_ " Sasuke feels the tips of his ears heat up. "I don't recall Little Miss Gothic here producing any sperm."

"Yeah," Shikamaru bites back, "And we all know what a problem  _that_  is."

" _Stop_  it, you two," Temari shouts just as the doctor comes in, blissfully unaware of their delicate situation, and swiftly sets up the machinery. Temari's reddened cheeks tone down in colour the more the doctor speaks to her with reassuring words, and holds the hand that Shikamaru proffers apologetically.

Sasuke watches them, still irate, and walks towards the door. "If you don't want me to raise my own child, then so be it. I'm done."

Then he hears it. The gentle whirring of the machine sending its sound waves into Temari's womb. Sasuke turns his head marginally and sees a figure appearing in the screen, small and stark white against the black backdrop. Without meaning to, Sasuke finds himself edging closer and closer towards the ultrasound image and leaning down to have a closer look at the screen.

That's his baby.

A tear leaks out of Temari's eye, prompting her to squeeze Shikamaru's hand like Christmas just arrived early.

That's  _their_  baby.


	4. the one with the uchihas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Rock Lee makes a daily habit of "walking" up the seven flights of stairs to Neji's apartment every morning, several times, before he knocks on Neji's door and invites himself in. By that time, Neji is usually awake and disdainfully staring down at him with a cappuccino in one hand and a grumbling Naruto's t-shirt in the other.

He isn't a morning person, which is why Lee always insists that they handstand up the flights together instead of sleeping in and being passive every morning. Of course, that is when Tenten wakes up and throws a bag of trash at them for being too loud and Naruto pulls him inside for the sake of placating their neighbour.

When asked _why exactly_ Lee consistently strives for physical prowess, he answers that as an aspiring-gym owner and a martial arts instructor, peak physical condition is a definite must if he wants to set an example for his youthful pupils. He loves what he does. Lee loves to train, to feel the adrenaline rushing through his system, to feel himself improving and coping more effectively with the extreme training he and Gai do everyday. He also loves showing up to class every Wednesday and Sunday afternoons to transfer his exuberance to the five disciples who still feel enough flames to show up and train.

They're his little chickens, complete with green jumpsuits and orange leg and arm warmers, and never complain about the cramped, rented space they currently have for lessons. He almost cries from happiness every time they reassure him and tell them how proud they are of their sensei. He's a _sensei_ now.

"How're your lessons coming along, Lee?" Tenten, much friendlier now that her eye-bags have mysteriously disappeared, pours him a cup of his favourite Ten-tea, and beams at him when he tells her about the recent development with him and his students. He doesn't witness Tenten hurling a porcelain tea-cup at Neji, who's rolling his eyes and catching it swiftly, and laments over the upcoming rent for his apartment and the rented lesson space. By nature, he despises concerning himself with financial matters and anything overtly-commercial. Lee prefers to live life to the fullest and enjoy the luxuries afforded to him by kindness and friendship, but _sometimes..._

"You'll figure it out," Naruto interjects, having woken up from his shower, and ventures over to Tenten's fridge, "You're Rock Lee - you can do anything."

"I can!" Lee agrees vehemently, "But should I start charging my students now?"

"Now?" Neji joins in, shocked, "Now? It's been a whole year - why haven't you been charging them?"

Lee shrinks sheepishly, explaining that he'd rather them learn out of love for martial arts than obligation. Neji whacks the back of Lee's head with a newspaper.

"Fool. If they pay for your lessons, then they'll feel more determined to train harder to make their parents' money worth their time."

"Well, when you put it that way," Lee sits back, rubbing his shiny bowl cut thoughtfully, "That's a good point."

Neji shrugs. "Just make sure you get your finances on track."

"I will! But I have another question." Still balancing on two hands, Lee turns towards Tenten, who gestures for him to proceed, "How was your date?" Immediately, her countenance sours and Lee wonders how Neji manages to find the courage to calm down Tenten every time she's even remotely irate (which is rare, thus earning Tenten the coveted title of Youthful Spring Blossom).

"Just _fine_ ," she stabs at a piece of toast and lets the crumbs tumble down to the ground, in front of Lee's face. The room is silent. Tenten sneers and turns towards them. "Is 'I haven't been able to perform for two years because of my divorce' a pick-up line?"

Straight off the bat, Naruto asserts, "Oldest one in the book." He receives a sorrowful look from Tenten, who turns her gaze around again.

"How dishonourable of him," Lee gets back to his feet and gives Tenten a comforting pat on her shoulder. "Doesn't he know that you can dissect him into five million cubes in mere seconds?"

She gives him a watery smile and laughs. "I broke his watch and saw him cry like a baby."

"Atta girl," Neji says with a smirk, "And speaking of babies - I hear Sasuke has one now."

"Really?" Lee and Naruto scream in unison.

"Yup," Tenten's beam practically lights up the kitchen, "I'm going to be an aunt!"

"He didn't tell me shit!"

"Where were you when he was showing us the sonogram yesterday night?"

Naruto scratches his head, a look of dawning realisation popping up. "I thought it was a potato."

"Anyway," Tenten interrupts them as she puts on her coat, "We're heading to work, maybe seeing my precious baby later on. Don't wait up."

Neji joins her and closes the door behind them. "Lock up, Naruto."

Naruto runs to the door and makes sure the sounds of retreating footsteps are indistinguishable before he swears loudly at the door and blows a raspberry. Lee shakes his head. "How very un-youthful."

* * *

It's rare that Tenten finds herself graced by the presence of someone she knows at the restaurant.

Usually, her friends steer clear of each other's workplaces - they see each other often enough at Ichiraku's _and_ at her apartment, after all.

But on some occasions, she knows she's cooking for Neji when a take-away order of pickled herrings topped with sesame seeds pops up on the screen, which is when she also knows she's getting picked up from her shift in his BMW. She knows Lee or Naruto are present when there's an uproar in the dining area and a sudden influx of meat is hurried out to a table, along with a few curses thrown about by the wait staff. Alternatively, and on much rarer days, her female co-workers mysteriously vanish and coo over someone who she _knows_ is her broody brother.

Today is different in many ways, yet similar.

She's granted a half-hour break during peak hour for one, as tonight is slower than normal, so for the first time in months Tenten allows herself to settle into a chair (near the kitchen) and savour the grilled meat that she spends most days cooking. And during this half-hour break, she's greeted by a dark figure pushing out the chair across from her and ordering the same dish from Moegi, who's working part-time as a waitress.

The girl practically runs off, beet-red, and squeals with the other waitresses when she reaches the kitchen. Tenten chuckles at her brother.

"You really know how to make an entrance," she wolfs down more of her rice and stuffs a lettuce leaf into her mouth.

"Hm," he sips at his tea and smiles at her kindly. "It's good to see you again."

"Oh, please," she waves her hand in the air, feigning apathy, "You only disappear for fifty years at a time. It's not like I miss you - or _Sasuke_ , for that matter."

"I suppose I am rather absent these days." Itachi smiles at a grumbling Udon, who's no doubt being cursed by a crowd of girls from behind the door. "Thank you. How have you been?"

Tenten shrugs. "So and so. Still cooking, still going to conventions. None have topped last year's Cleaver Show yet - I'm pretty disappointed."

"In due time," he nods in understanding, "I quite enjoyed the one you took me to. '00 Stainless Steel?"

"The birth of my passion. I don't think I would've ditched business for cooking if you hadn't agreed to drive me there."

"You did threaten me with a shuriken."

"It was plastic."

"I know," Itachi starts to elegantly chew at his meat in a way that makes her look completely barbaric. The Uchiha siblings, however, are notorious for being able to devour Mikoto Uchiha's mass production-esque meals at the dinner table, although Tenten gained more sideways while her brothers gained size vertically, so he finishes within ten minutes and orders another bowl. "How's Sasuke doing these days?"

"When did you arrive?" She points her chopsticks at him accusatorily, "That you haven't even talked to Sasuke yet."

"This afternoon. I was planning on meeting him tomorrow morning at the Museum - more opportune for the both of us."

"Does he know?"

"You know me." Tenten takes that as a negative and grins.

"You're in for a treat then."

"I heard the divorce was finalised." At her raised eyebrows, he continued, "Mum and Dad were sobbing to me over the phone about it - they want grandchildren before Dad turns sixty."

"They, or her?"

" _They_ ," he emphasises the word with a pointed glance, "And you should really get on that too - they can't just bug us brothers forever, you know."

"I had a date yesterday," she replies defensively. Itachi stares at her for a solid minute. She hears cars move around in the restaurant's parking lot.

"Did you lacerate him?"

"His watch."

"You're getting soft."

She opens her mouth to retort, and then the doorbell chimes as a new customer walks in with the lapels of their black coat upturned. Tenten signals for Moegi to greet the man, then realises it's Neji walking in with a cup of green tea. The momentary pause in her speech is enough for Itachi to turn around slightly.

Neji, bless his soul, has never met the wandering wolf of the Uchiha Family, precisely because he's never around when Itachi deigns to show up, so his eyes immediately narrow and silently ask if she needs him to do anything - something along the scale of interruption to homicide (it depends on their mood, really). She shakes her head.

"Neji! You just get off work?" He turns down his collar and allows his hair to breathe.

"Unfortunately, the boss was feeling particular today." He's in a salty, wine mood, which Tenten is totally amenable to on normal days, but-

"Tenten?" Itachi leans forward and rests his chin on the fold of his hands, the way Sasuke does it when he's feeling frustrated or in the mood for some scrutinising. "What's your name?"

"Neji Hyuga."

"Interesting," Itachi unclasps his fingers and leans back in his chair, fixing a strange look on him. "Have a seat, Neji."

Neji silently lowers himself into the chair beside them.

She chooses this moment to extract herself from the situation. "Well, would you look at the time. I have to work - see you at the dinner tomorrow?"

Itachi smiles warmly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

When she comes back from her escape into the kitchen, her apron is gone, her hair is still locked up in a sweatier rendition of her twin buns, and she wants to collapse. Neji's still sitting in the same position, silent and contemplative.

"Hey," she jolts him out of his thoughts, because as much as Neji likes to have his thinking time, it'Lees midnight and she just wants to go home. "You ready?"

"Of course," he shrugs his coat on and grabs his cup from the table. "Tired?"

"Always," she practically whines and exaggerates a few back stretches, "One of these days, I'm going to be reborn as a goddess. Tenten, Goddess of Cooking."

"Lee's adamant that you're the embodiment of the Springtime of Youth."

Tenten makes a tsk-ing sound and thumps his chest. Neji holds his hand over the left side of his chest, glaring at her in annoyance. "That could be anybody - Lee thinks _Gai_ is the Springtime of Youth."

"Didn't you train with them for a solid year?"

"Good times," she puffs out her cheeks and slowly exhales when smoke effuses from her mouth. "Hey, what happened with Itachi?"

Neji gives her a shrug and a brief look. "Nothing."

* * *

"I hate this," Sasuke enters Tenten's apartment with his customary scowl on his face and an eye-roll when he sees her and Itachi chatting amicably over the chicken.

"You're a ray of sunshine," Itachi pokes his forehead with a finger, reminiscent of his earlier - _unwelcome_ _surprise_ \- visit that morning, and makes a sweeping gesture at the dining table. "Help set up; you're late."

" _You're_ late," he sticks his tongue out childishly, which earns him a blank stare from his siblings.

"Good one."

"Shut up."

His coat meets the hook next to Tenten's door and exposes half of his stomach the exact moment Sakura emerges from her room. His mouth drops to the floor, because she's in _leggings_ and a _hoodie._ Rich-girl Sakura is in leggings and hoodie. Rich-girl Sakura is putting her hair up into a messy bun and hollering at Tenten to spare her the leftovers if they have any from dinner. Rich-girl Sakura is greeting his older brother like he's an old, old friend, and Sasuke is effectively snapped out of his daze.

"Hi," he greets her. She perks up and smiles back, notices the state of his clothes, then blushes. His abs are by no means properly formed - divorce plus PhD equals almost no gym sessions. Sasuke pulls his shirt down, mortified.

"Have a great dinner guys - I'll be across the hall if you need me. Bye, Sasuke," she beams at the three of them and skips out with a tub of ice-cream under her arms. He glances up at his siblings and rolls his eyes when the beginnings of a smirk start to form on their lips.

"I'm impressed with her. She cut all her credit cards yesterday night, and now she's job-hunting by day."

"That's great," Itachi sets the plates on the table and checks his phone when it buzzes in his pocket. "That'll be them."

"Kami, help me," Tenten prays skyward and smooths down her dress. The only one who's not at risk of being prodded to death with critique and questions by their parents is Itachi, the Golden Child. Sasuke's fall from grace came when he divorced Temari, whom they adored, so he doubts telling them about her being a lesbian and having his child would make the delicate family situation any better.

Then again, Tenten's having it considerably worse off, with her job, her lack of marriage prospects and her being the 'only Uchiha in history who hasn't made a respectable name for herself'. The door knocks, Sasuke grimaces, and opens the door to find himself being thrown backwards by Mikoto Uchiha's embrace.

"My babies!" She pulls Tenten and Itachi over and snuggles the three of them in her arms. Fugaku spots the chicken on the table and drools. "You look so good, Tennie! Have you lost more weight?"

"A bit," Tenten manages to revive herself from the chokehold and ushers her mother into a seat, "I've been cooking lots, too."

"Aren't you ever going to make use of your degree?" Fugaku joins the matriarch at the table and gives her a stern glance. "You didn't spend all that money for nothing, you know."

"Father, Mother," Itachi interjects, situating himself next to Fugaku and beaming at them. "How have you been?"

Sasuke elbows Tenten into the seat next to Mikoto, which she pushes him for, and surrenders. Mikoto then happily loads food onto Sasuke's plate. "Eat up, Sasuke, you're looking so thin now! We've been fine, Itachi - do visit more?"

"Of course. My trips should be getting more infrequent now that the deal's been settled. I promise I'll make more time to visit you."

Fugaku nods at his eldest son, allowing a small upward flicks of his lip corners to appear.

"The food is _gorgeous_. Do you have a boyfriend yet, Tenten?" Mikoto reaches over to pour potatoes onto Tenten's plate.

"Uh, not exactly," she kicks Sasuke's shin under the table, "but Sasuke has some news for you."

Sasuke makes sure to scowl at her before responding to his parents' expectant stares. "I'm starting on my thesis."

He catches Itachi's eye-flicker of warning and cringes when his parents pour glasses of wine to celebrate. Tenten proceeds to send him a death-inducing side glance.

"And, also," Sasuke gulps, "You remember Temari?"

"Yes?" Fugaku replies, tone gruff.

"She's-She is. Uh. She's pregnant." The tension is palpable. Mikoto tears up from the news, a mixture of exuberant joy and pure sorrow radiating off her in waves, while Fugaku's jaw clenches. He does _not_ like that jaw-clench. "And, she's also dating a woman named Shikamaru. We'll be raising the baby together."

His father's face purples. Mikoto breaks into minute sobs, then turns to Tenten with the same accusatory glare that they've all mastered. "And you _knew_ this?"

* * *


	5. the one with the party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own either of these franchises, and would like to say that even though I'm in uni myself, I have no idea how the system works in the big USA so if I'm wrong please excuse me because this is fictional and therefore uni works how I want it to

Naruto swears that he has never gotten up before or at sunrise. He makes a point of sleeping past noon on weekends and 9am on weekdays, if he's feeling super active and motivated. And he isn't _lazy_ , okay? He works out with Lee on Tuesdays and Saturdays (those two days specifically, because his body needs to recuperate for two to three days before he's ready) so that has to surmount to some semblance of proactivity.

And for the record, Naruto finds great joy in jogging in the afternoons, when the streets reach that temporal threshold between empty and supersaturated, so he can run with his fitbitted wrists flying out beside him and the wind streaming through his hair. Occasionally, there are people who yell at him for being a lunatic and to not squeeze his eyelids shut when he runs, but he lives with Neji Hyuga so there's nothing that scares him these days.

Except for unemployability.

He's an actor, so by all means he is as dirt-poor and stereotypical as it gets. Most of his days are spent running from audition to audition, some of which score him a minor role in a TV commercial or someone's stunt double, but he's predominantly jobless when he doesn't have shifts at Ichiraku's. The man is practically a saint for hiring him and paying him a stable salary of twenty-per-hour, even going as far as forgiving him when he doesn't show up to work because of an audition.

He's not proud of his job status, but he _is_ proud that he's in a place in his life where he's doing what he loves, even though it's a hard and unforgiving business. The struggle to find a substantial role has been going on for the past five years, during which he's been knocked down more times than he can even remember. Jiraiya, great agent though he is, can only help pick him up so many times before Naruto's despondency truly catches up. He hasn't been doing anything outside of minor roles in plays (on good days) for a year and a half.

His parents call in from Boston every two weeks, a huge improvement from Kushina Uzumaki's daily rate, and subtly prod at him to enrol into the Police Academy that their close friends own and run in the Big Apple. Which is how Naruto had ended up there in the first place - fresh out of Art school and clutching the enrolment forms with a scowl that could make Fugaku Uchiha cower. Probably. He'd made a deal back then to at least try to become a policeman before being so resolute about acting - his dad had even given Naruto the business card of an agent he knew, should Naruto make up his mind.

And incidentally, that day was the day he'd received his first kiss...from Sasuke. It happened when he was storming to the front desk, all irate and tunnel vision-y in the way his entire family is prone to do, thereby unaware of Sasuke striding towards the receptionist with the same aura. Long story short, they'd both been there for similar ( _parents_ , tch) and different reasons. While Naruto was there to apply for his parents' reassurance and in spite of his dreams and aspirations, Sasuke had been there to spitefully prove his father wrong. And then they'd collided at light speed before sharing a shockingly lip-splitting kiss.

Ironically, he hadn't known that Sasuke was the son of the very same best friends of his parents, or that he may well have been the person who almost got Naruto kicked out of the Academy before he could even apply. Not that _that_ even matters, because after he'd finished arguing with Sasuke, he tore up his application, pulled out the card, and clamoured into Jiraiya's office with a gigantic grin.

It was, completely coincidentally, another two weeks until he would become Neji's new roommate and the bane of Tenten's culinary existence, and a week after that for him to reunite with his first kiss. Needless to say, Sasuke had been noticeably uncomfortably and even pulled Naruto aside for blatant bribery.

On occasion, when Naruto thinks about what would happen if they all found out about his and Sasuke's _real_ first meeting, a shudder runs down his spine and he gets a migraine.

Naruto loves them all, truly, which is why he breaks his One Cardinal Rule and declares this piece of news at 6am:

"I GOT A GIG!"

Neji is violently shaken out of his bed by Naruto jumping up and down several times and in succession. He comes to when he realises he's no longer lying in a cloud of memory-foam and hears Naruto screeching at him like banshee on record - that is when his eyes snap open, but Naruto's already running out and banging on the door of Tenten's apartment. Promptly concluding that Tenten's going to be the one to throw knives at him for this, he returns to his mattress and allows himself to reorient himself perpendicular to the bedframe before he hears Naruto running back in and screaming bloody murder.

"Ow! Kami, what's _wrong_ with y-"

"What's wrong with _me_?" He listens to Tenten screaming expletives with a smug smile. "What's wrong with _you_? It's six! AM! In the morning! Have you not heard of beauty sleep?"

Naruto briefly pauses his whining and snorts. "You, beauty?" The sound of a punch resounds throughout the living room.

"Okay, that hurt."

Sakura's the next to rush in, sleeping robes secured around her waist with a green sash. "I heard a punch. What's going on?"

Naruto physically perks up when he remembers his big news and runs over to Sakura for a hug. "I got a gig!"

She screams in excitement when Tenten's expression morphs into one of pure delight. "Atta boy! Congratulations!" She joins in with their group hug and pulls a sulking, emerging Neji into it despite his protests. When they break apart, Naruto is practically glowing.

"So after I did that Days of Our Lives audition I went to Ichiraku's-"

"Of course," Neji says, with a hint of dry amusement.

"-And I got hideously drunk, which is why I didn't see this text from Jiraiya telling me to call him. So I woke up this morning with a hangover and when I checked my phone for the time-"

"Naruto," Tenten interrupts him gently, "I am so excited and happy for you, but please get to the point."

He takes in a deep breath, holds his hands up in the air dramatically, and then enunciates each word clearly as he approaches them. "You are looking at the new _Dr Drake Ramoray_!"

Tenten and Sakura squeal in a high enough pitch to break an entire army's eardrums, and then squish him into hugs with Neji, who proudly pats Naruto on the back and says something along the lines of 'celebrate'. Naruto doesn't remember much of the next few hours, but apparently Neji and Tenten took the day off work to move the celebration into Tenten's apartment while Sakura rushed to make calls for a party that same night.

He has the best friends ever.

* * *

It's in full swing by the time Gai and Lee hand-step through the door with Naruto's gift poised on the soles of their shoes. Even that and the added presence of Itachi aren't enough to spoil Sasuke's good mood. He gives Naruto a happy, macho man-hug the moment he arrives and congratulates him on his job as Itachi hands Naruto what appears to be an Xbox.

"Don't pay me back for this," Itachi says with a smile, "You deserve it."

"Hey, thanks man!" Naruto sets it down on the table and gives the elder Uchiha a back-breaking hug. "Make yourself at home - Tenten made ramen!"

"That _does_ sound like my home," Itachi laughs nostalgically and immediately moves into the kitchen.

"So, what's your role?" Sasuke pops open a bottle of beer and sits down next to a chattering Sakura.

"Dr Drake Ramoray on Days of Our Lives," Naruto says happily, "It's no _big_. Just my big break." He throws himself back into the couch and sighs, content. One and a half years of hard work and it's finally starting to pay off.

"You did well," Sasuke says emphatically, which Naruto takes as the highest order of Sasucomplimenting and gives him a hug for.

"Group hug!" He hears Sakura yell out, before a pile of bodies jump on the both of them. Sasuke finds himself uncomfortably squeezed between Naruto and what smells like and strawberries and feels like silk, and then realises it's Sakura's face and her hair pressing against his nose. On top of them is Tenten, Neji and Lee, followed by Gai and Itachi, then Jiraiya, and someone who is possibly Hinata. _He_ wouldn't know, he's near the bottom and silently overwhelmed by Sakura being physically close to him so for all he cared Santa could be there and he wouldn't be any wiser.

Naruto starts to eke out something that sounds like 'can't breathe', so they all jump apart and gasp for air. Sasuke finds himself reminiscing about the air he was breathing before, realises he's being creepy, and then walks off to retrieve a brand-new drink.

"Oh," he says, seeing a complete stranger standing in his sister's kitchen, "I don't know if you got the memo, but you're not supposed to be here."

The woman, beer in one hand and phone in the other, looks at him in utter shock. "W-what? I was invited."

"Oh," he says again, flipping through his brain for any knowledge of a new guest (read, new addition to their incredibly tight-knit group) and comes up with a blank. "Who?"

"Neji invited me," she sticks a thumb out at the accused man, who's in the midst of talking to his cousin, and smiles sweetly, "I met him a few weeks ago at work and he invited me here because our date tonight was cancelled."

"Ah," Sasuke nods.

"I'm Kin." Kin holds out a hand, the tips of her fingers pointing towards the ground as though she's expecting him to kiss it like he's from the 1800's, or something. Sasuke just nods again and gives her a brief thumbs-up.

"Sasuke. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she retracts her hand awkwardly. Sasuke would feel guilty for being an ass, and being the ass he'd been for the past year, but considering that he doesn't, and that she's obviously here for Neji and not Naruto, he returns her smile with a forced one and walks away.

* * *

"All I'm saying," Tenten downs a glass of wine and rests her head on the couch as Itachi, Sasuke and Sakura sit around her with their own drinks. "Is that I'm completely okay, okay? He's a high-flying, corporate man and _she's_ a high-flying woman and they're like this little jigsaw puzzle, you know? And he hasn't had an official girlfriend in years so I'm happy for them! They even look the same - stupid sleek, black hair. Good for you, Neji! You're perfectly free to date _cows_."

Itachi meets Sasuke's eye and does this weird, twitching motion with his head. Sasuke gets up to join him at the kitchen as Sakura delicately prompts Tenten to keep talking in her drunken haze.

"What's up?" Sasuke crosses his arms over his chest and stares at his brother inquisitively.

"I talked to Neji last night. He honestly seemed like a good man."

"He is."

"That's not what I'm seeing here. It looks like she-"

" _She_ doesn't know what she's doing," Sasuke says lightly. "Believe me, I've been watching them dance around for years and nothing's come out of it. Just leave them be and they'll figure it out."

Itachi sighs before turning around to look at Tenten sadly. "If you say so. That brings me to another point - have you chosen the name of your child yet? I've been getting daily, detailed texts of names and their meanings from our parents since you broke it to them last week. Please tell me you've made a decision."

There's a pause. "I haven't...yet." Itachi's head drops. "But Temari's willing to compromise on name and surname, so I have time."

"Good, it's for your child, after all."

Sasuke stares at him pointedly. "What's your preference?"

"Sarada," he says at once. "After your beloved big brother."

He rolls his eyes. "I'll think about it."

"Don't think - do," he smiles at him pleasantly and gives a now-sleeping Tenten a kiss on the cheek before shrugging his coat on. "I'm off - remember what we talked about." Sasuke leads him to the door and is caught off guard by the finger jabbing at his forehead. "I'll send you a memo. Ciao."

"Bye."

Sakura's haphazardly throwing a blanket over Tenten's body when he turns around, tucking her in gently. The pinkette stands up and catches sight of him standing at the entrance as she dusts off her pants. "It's been a long day."

"It has," he exhales and tucks a strand of Tenten's hair behind her ear. His next words make him feel like he's just conquered Mt Everest. "How've you been? We haven't had many opportunities to talk."

"I've been great - still job-searching, out of money now that I've cut myself off, but I'm happy," she beams up at him (he valiantly represses every heart beat), "I feel like this huge weight has been lifted off my chest, you know? No more marriage, no more Sai, no more society dinners," her hands are waving around in the air as she talks. He finds it both endearing and heartwarming to see the girl he'd been halfway-in-love with since high-school stepping away from her silver-spooned lifestyle and loving it. "I'm in a place in my life where everything is decided by me," Sakura pauses for a split-second. "And also, occasionally, the Bank, but everything else is _me._ "

He sits down on the adjacent couch and watches her fret over his sister. "I think that sounds perfect."

She sends him a quick smile. "It's so perfect. I'm thinking of doing something - more like, coming back to it, but I'm not too sure and haven't told anyone yet."

Sasuke leans forward slightly, ears attentive. "What is it?"

"I'm considering going back to studying. And before you say anything like that's ridiculous, you're too old now, or you can't because you don't have the money-"

"It's a great idea," he agrees adamantly. Sakura grins.

"Isn't it? I mean, I finished my pre-med degree a few years ago, so I might be able to do something with that at least. Right? I made sure my grades were high enough for med before...well - marriage."

"Of course," he holds a hand out to punctuate his point, "You could absolutely become a doctor - it'll take a decade, but you can do it easily."

"Really?" Sakura blushes and stands up in excitement. "I'll start applying - it shouldn't be too late, right?"

"Of course not," he replies, not really sure himself, "Go for it."

She almost jolts Tenten out of her sleep when she lands back on the cushions, then stays silent for a few seconds. "I think I'm going to do it," Sakura swivels around to look at him, "I'm doing it. I'm applying for uni again. I'm going to school again!" Sakura grabs her wine glass and downs it before grabbing Sasuke by the shoulders and pressing kisses to both of his cheeks. "Thank you _so_ much!"

Something he replies with makes her giggle uncontrollably, possibly because she's drunk out of her mind, but then she's repeating the same phrase over and over and he finds himself...happy. Happy because other people are happy.

And suddenly, he really likes that feeling.

* * *


	6. the one with the mcat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of your comments and kudos everyone! Please remember to leave more - more feedback equals faster updates and better content! <3

In hindsight, Sakura's starting to realise her plan isn't as easy-breezy-lemon-squeezy as she hoped it would be. There was the issue of deciding to go to med school overnight, for one, the fact that she hasn't picked up an academic textbook in over two years, and let's not forget the sheer amount of almost-impossibility it'll take for her to actually be accepted, given her time off to get married.

A future at NYU's med school starts to look less achieveable the longer she sits in the career counselling office and waits for Shizune, the counsellor to finish reading the documents that Sakura had retrieved from her parents' home earlier that day.

"Your grades are impressive," Shizune says, her dark eyebrows raised. "A 3.8 certainly gives you a chance of being considered for NYU's medical program. However..."

"What is it?" Sakura takes a deep breath and tries not to let her anxiety show through, even though her heart's jack-hammering away like her chest is its concrete (and it most certainly is not).

"There is still the issue of you having done neither the MCAT nor the interview. As you may be aware, you have to surpass all three hurdles before you can be accepted into our program. Now," Shizune clasps her hands together and leans forward on her mahogany desk. "I would highly recommend taking this exam, if you're still determined to undertake this pathway."

She nods vehemently and says, "I am," with feeling.

"Good," the woman smiles and hands Sakura back her documents, "You still have a few months to enrol and study for the MCAT - I wish you the best of luck."

Sakura steps out of the office and leans against the door when it closes. She zones in on a purple flag fluttering against the wind at the door and sighs, recalling the years when she'd assumed she never had to study again.

And realistically - who was she kidding? She was the one who chose to knock down the bathroom window in a church and run away from her life of gossipy housewife-itude. Of course life wouldn't be as easy as it was at home. She almost hadn't made it to the counsellor meeting  _because_  her parents tried to knock some sense into her head and persuade her to stay at home where 'daddy's already a doctor, so why do you need to be one too?'

Why does she?

A sudden vibrating from her back pocket saves her from torturing herself even further. She swiftly accepts the call without looking at the screen and holds it up to her ear, eyes still focused on the NYU flag. "Sakura speaking."

"It's Sai."

She tells herself that there really isn't a need to hyperventilate over something as simple as returning a wedding ring to a fiancé. In theory, the only task required of Sakura is to walk into Sai's clinic, return his 100-carat ring in person, and walk out with her head held high.

"I'm a classy, classy girl," Sakura repeats under her breath, in her head, over the phone to Tenten during her lunch break, and all the while on her way to impending emotional doom. Because classy ladies don't exactly smash open windows with their bare fists, bunch up the skirt of their wedding gowns and climb out of bathrooms on their Special Day, do they?

"Dr Hino will see you now." She's abruptly called into the consultation room that holds far too many explicit memories for her to feel comfortable in and is greeted by the sight of her former husband-to-be. Sai somehow appears both fatigued and refreshed at the same time, with his typically ghostly-white skin radiating a rosy tinge that amplifies the dark circles under his eyes.

"Sakura." He greets her stiffly, tone completely (and understandably) void of affection. Sakura replies in kind with an awkward salutation. "You look good."

"So do you," she says, "Different."

"You mean the skin," he remarks drily. Sakura shrugs noncommittally. "I was in Aruba."

Oh. The honeymoon destination. Yikes.

"Well, did you have - fun?"

"I did, actually. Ino was great company."

"Ino?" Sakura stops refraining for the sake of politeness mixed with crushing guilt and gawks at his impassive face. "My maid of honour Ino? Yamanaka?"

"She stuck around considerably longer than you, yes." He smiles, giving off the impression of a blank canvas, and that's when she knows it's pointless to further the conversation.

Which, Sakura would have heeded if they were still together.

As it so happens, they're not.

"She's also a backstabber! How did you two even happen?"

As she crosses her arms over her chest in mute disgust, Sai's upper lip curls. "I don't believe you have the right to comment on backstabbing when you walked away from our future."

"I have the right to say whatever the damn hell I want, and fine - yes, I walked away from us. But you know what?" She throws her hands into the air and slams them back down onto the table in front of him. "I don't think there was even an 'us' to begin with if you jetted off to Aruba with Ino that quickly. How long did it take you to make that decision? Two seconds? An hour?"

"Eight hours, twenty minutes and ten seconds," he stands up and glares at her, looking uncharacteristically upset. "Believe it or not, Sakura, I cared about you. I was ready to start a life for us and you didn't have enough dignity to say 'I don't' to my face. You think you're embarrassed that I went to Aruba with someone who was there for me on my wedding day? Imagine being left behind at the altar in front of six-hundred people. With cameras."

The room plunges into an icy silence as soon as Sai finishes and closes his eyes, his chest heaving like he's just completed a marathon.

"Sai," Sakura starts, her earlier guilt returning. There's a subtle eye roll as soon as he hears her, but she takes the lack of reply as a signal to continue. "You're right. I was selfish," her bottom lip curls in and out, "I didn't think about you or how you would have felt. I just wanted to escape."

"But why?" He opens his eyes again and stares at her, "Was it me?"

Was it him? Partially. The entire reason why she became a fugitive bride in the first place was because she didn't love him - not like that. But if she's honest with herself, Sakura usually prides herself in being steadfast. Reliable, with a good head on her shoulders. She was raised by a man who operates on people with a scalpel and regularly regaled her with stories vis-a-vis the operating theatre. It takes more than a strong lack of emotions to scare Sakura Haruno away from anything.

She thinks back to the weeks she spent opening and closing websites on medical programs, languishing in despair on Tenten's couch before finally making the decision to go for it. Was abandoning Sai just because she had an extreme, funeral-level case of cold feet, or more?

She must've been silent for a substantial amount of time, because Sai starts to tap at his table impatiently.

"You're right," she zeroes in on his face and looks at his cautiously blank face, "You deserve an explanation. As much as I am grateful for everything you did for me, I never could bring myself to love you."

"Then why didn't you tell me that before the wedding? You had two years."

"I had two years, she agrees with a nod, "And it took me that long to realise I didn't want to spend the rest of my life being married when there were still things I wanted to do without it. I'm sorry, Sai. You're a great guy, truly," Sakura picks up his hand and holds it in between hers. She smiles and he returns it. "I'm just not the one for you."

"Thank you," Sai releases his hand from hers gently and places them in his pockets, "For being honest."

"Yeah," she grins back, then suddenly realising the purpose of her visit. "And, I believe this will belong to the new Mrs Dr Sai Satoshi?"

He takes it from her hands with a focused expression and steps forward to give her a rare hug.

Their last meeting ends with much less dramatic fanfare than Sakura envisioned on the bus ride there, and she doesn't know how she feels about it but her heart isn't fluttering anymore and neither does she feel pits of crushing doom and despair forming in her body anymore, so overall, Sakura gives herself a ten for internal solidarity.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this introduction! I intend on continuing this series for a long time, so please leave your feedback!


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